A Hard Day's Night
by Freelance101
Summary: Sometimes it's easier to marry a job than to admit you're in love.
1. Lemonade, anyone?

Author's note: Alright guys, here it goes… crosses fingers _Please be good…_

"Perfect. You're hired."

Pan watched from inside the kitchen as Trunks brought forth the thick wad of paperwork necessary to employ anyone at Capsule Corp, from the most insignificant janitor to his own advisors, and handed it across the table to a sandy-haired young man.

Although technically Pan had been sent into the kitchen by Bra and Bulma to procure another pitcher full of lemonade, she'd seen fit to use the opportunity to keep herself posted on the developments of the young interviewee with astonishingly green eyes. She'd walked in just in time to hear Trunks' deep voice float in through the window screen with the good news about Ken.

"If you'll just wade through this mess and sign a few things here and there, we can get you set up in an office by Monday."

Pan raised her eyebrows in disbelief. _It's that easy, huh?_ she thought to herself. For almost a year now, Trunks had been filing through thousands upon thousands of applications for the post of personal assistant to Trunks Briefs, president and CEO of Capsule Corporation. Of course, by personal assistant it was implied that the lucky man or woman who received the job would eventually become the first full-fledged vice president of Capsule Corp., next in line for the throne—a safeguard for the Briefs' fortune. Throughout the entire mess, Trunks had never seemed eager to award the post to anyone, not even the most accomplished of applicants—Harvard graduates and even CEOs willing to leave their jobs to work for CC. He'd even avoided the extremely attractive and lethally intelligent blondes whom he was so inclined to hire as _personal_ secretaries.

As a result, Pan had written the whole ordeal off as a ruse, a pitiful attempt to make Bulma believe that her son was actually humble enough to search for a successor. Each time he sent away interviewees with a 'no' and threw down countless applications, and he usually threw down an excuse to go with them—the proverbial nail in the coffin. He hadn't indicated any changes of heart...until two days ago, when he'd solemnly swallowed his last gulp of coffee, set an application down carefully on the kitchen table, and looked around slowly at Bulma, Bra and Pan, who'd popped over for breakfast with Bra.

"I've found him," he'd announced, with perfect clarity and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Pan had laughed and choked on her blueberry muffin.

"That's a good one, Trunks. Is it April the first already?" Bra had muttered, not even bothering to look up from the newspaper she was reading.

"I'm not joking this time half-pint. See for yourself." He'd handed the portfolio across the table to Bra, who dropped her newspaper and skimmed over it for several minutes.

"What makes him so special?" Pan had asked, leaning over Bra's shoulder to read.

"Yeah, other than the fact that he's extremely attractive, he's got nothing in particular thatsetshim apart fromthe other candidates,"

"I know, I know. But consider this:he's a small-town kid with just the right amount ofbusiness experience, he's competent, or so his previous employers have told me, and he's loyal as well. He's exactly what I'm looking for."

"Mmm-hmm, right. That sounds like _exactly_ the type of guy I'd want running my company," Pan had retorted sarcastically.

"I don't think you're seeing the big picture Panny. You see, his is the only application I've read without 101 different prestigious awards or recomendations, and he doesn't come from thetop tierof the cutthroat business world. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I can mold him into whatever I want, that way I won't have to worry about some underhanded CEO changing the company around as soon as I decide to take a vacation to Bermuda." He'd sat back, looking smug and waiting for the expected praise from around the table.

"Clever dear! That's why you're my son I suppose." Bulma had smiled as she mopped up the last of her eggs with toast. "I can't wait to meet him."

And that had been the advent of a new and complex turn of events. Ken Gleeson was supposedly perfect for the job, and now he had it. Pan mentally ticked off the many requirements which Ken seemed to meet and which she'd had to hear about from Trunks for over a week. He was handsome, intelligent, had graduated from Chapman University, and had started a rapidly growing chain of small businesses which he hoped to consolidate with CC. And that was just a small fraction of the list.

Now, as Pan gazed through the window out across the perfectly manicured lawn of the Briefs estate at the lawn chairs and table set under idyllic willow trees, she wondered whether the new employee at CC would make life easier or harder for her. Of course, that was a question which could only be answered with another question. Would seeing Trunks in ever-increasing increments with his soon-to-be free time ease the longing in her heart for him, or increase it exponentially?

She stalled a bit longer as Trunks and Ken began to walk back towards the house and finally in through the sliding porch door. Both men were laughing congenially when they both stopped and looked up at Pan, standing in the kitchen with a pitcher of lemonade in her hand and an innocent smile on her face which was clearly affected.

As Ken's eyes alighted upon Pan in her tiny summer cover-up, a grin broke out upon his face. He reached out his arm to shake her hand and said, "Hi there. I'm Ken. It's nice to meet you Miss…?"

Pan's eyes danced as she tried to decide what this stranger meant by his friendly advance. "Son. Miss Pan Son, if you will."

That's the end of that. I hope you all enjoy this first rather boring, but necessary chapter. More will be forthcoming, I promise.


	2. Sure, he's cute

I know I know…there wasn't that much romance in the last chapter…but hopefully the writing was semi-okay…

Disneyland tour guide voice Aaaaand now in chapter two, we see things from Trunks' poooint of view…

That would only be funny if you've ever been to Disneyland and ridden on the Storybook Adventures or something.

Here goes:

Of course he'd noticed she was attractive. How could he miss it? There _had_ been a period of denial, where he had tried to convince himself that her long slender legs were still the awkward appendages of her childhood and that her silky black hair was still pinned up under an orange bandanna, but it was hard to ignore the fact that she'd become gorgeous almost overnight. Even harder to ignore was the insistent clawed beast which rose into his chest every time he saw her with a boyfriend, although he'd automatically blamed his hot anger on brotherly love. But being attracted to a best friend and 5-years-younger woman with a vengeful father was an impossibility and so he had ruled it out entirely. Besides, it was painfully obvious that Pan wasn't going through the same awkward phase as he was—he doubted she'd ever had any attraction to him whatsoever. All of these thoughts however, had never scratched the surface of his consciousness—only subconsciously did the thought of attraction rear its messy head.

What made this subliminal awkwardness even harder was the fact that they'd always been close—closer sometimes than even he and Goten. Yet now it was getting harder and harder to spend time with her due to his ever-increasing work load. Lately Bulma had been dumping extra work on him in anticipation of his new business associate. Actually, he'd been drifting away from Pan for the last year, but long nights at the office seemed to numb the persistent loneliness he seemed to feel without her. She hadn't seemed too effected by his rather noticeable absence, which had stung a little, but best friends drifted all the time, didn't they?

Now, with all of the excitement over hiring Ken Gleeson, he had somehow managed to not see her for three months running. He had just never had the time to call or make plans with her. Once again, he hadn't noticed any regret on her part. A little voice inside of him told him that it _did _matter to Pan and that he was pushing her away to keep himself away from the dangers of attraction, but usually whenever it spoke up he silenced it with piles of paperwork or pretty blonde business associates.

"Pan Son. It's a beautiful name." The first thing that Trunks noted about Ken after hiring him was his mastery of the opposite sex. With a quick glance between Pan and Ken he took in the casual posture, (one hand in the pocket, the other shaking Pan's gently), the tiny upturn of the mouth which insinuated that laughter was waiting to escape from behind his lips and his blue eyes, and the careful tone of voice, which revealed only a hint of interest while remaining cool and professional. Trunks also noted, with an alarm bell clanging somewhere deep in his chest, that Pan seemed to be taken in by Ken's smooth demeanor—no easy feat by any means considering Pan's standards. _That's fine_, Trunks thought to himself, trying to take his mind off of the mysterious twinkle in Pan's eyes, _Ken and I will not only be business partners, but the two bachelor scourges of the female world_.

"So Pan, this is…ah…Ken Gleeson. He, um, he's already introduced himself I see." For some reason Trunks was having a hard time finding words to match his thoughts.

Without removing her eyes from Ken, Pan replied, "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Gleeson." Ken seemed to have his eyes riveted onto Pan's.

"Call me Ken, please."

All of a sudden it seemed urgent that Trunks intervene to stop something that he knew instinctively would turn out to be much more serious than intended. "Actually Panny, I feel like I should reintroduce myself, I haven't seen you in so long. How're you doing?" He chuckled at the end, but it made him seem more anxious than good-natured.

After what seemed like an eternity, she shifted her eyes onto Trunks, but when she did, the result was not satisfying. There was a blue fire there that was usually only reserved for the rare few who ever hurt her or her friends. Yet outwardly she was smiling at him. His heart skipped several beats in pure terror. "Yes, reintroduce yourself Trunks. It'll be great—Ken and I can get to know the new you _together_."

Trunks cleared his throat nervously, but the unbearable silence wouldn't slide away. Even Ken, who was slightly less aware of the tension in the room, shifted uncomfortably on his feet and looked away distractedly. Only when a bubbling Bra burst into the room was the moment of discomfort over. "Pan, what's taking you so long with the frickin' lemon—Oh! Well hello there! I don't believe we've met before Mr.—"

"Mr. Gleeson. Actually, Ken Gleeson—call me Ken."

Bra looked Ken up and down slowly and obviously, absorbing his tall, muscular physique, suntanned skin, gorgeous blue eyes and sandy blond hair with one pass of her scrutinizing eyes. Then, in a not unexpected turn of events, she began to throw herself at him shamelessly.

Normally Trunks and Pan would have shared a look of disbelief, followed by wordless expressions of hilarity, but today the look he got from Pan was just as cold as it had been earlier. Besides that, and to Trunks' surprising dismay, Ken didn't seem to be falling into Bra's mantrap—which was patented and guaranteed to win the heart of any man. Instead he was chatting with her politely, but with no interest. Trunks even caught him stealing glances at Pan (who returned them readily, her eyes already being trained upon him) with a much more meaningful look in his eyes than was being conveyed to Bra.

This was all going terribly wrong.

"Where did you say you were from again?" Bra asked, batting her eyelashes and inching steadily closer to Ken.

"Amity. You probably wouldn't know it. It's a small town just outside of Orange."

Whatever this was, it was turning into a nightmare. Trunks wanted to get away from the high-strung emotions of everyone in the room and separate these people from each other so he could find out what was wrong with Pan. He waited for Bra to take a breath and then intervened. "Well listen you two, I'm glad you go to meet Ken, but I've got to take him to the office to get him paperwork in triplicate that he'll need to fill out before he can officially begin, and I've got to get it done before four, because I've got a meeting. I'm sure you girls will get to see him soon enough."

He turned Ken around forcefully and marched him towards the front door. Ken turned back and gave Pan a hopeful half-wave before he was pushed through the swinging kitchen door. She returned it with a smile and a wave of her own, whereas Trunks' pleading eyes earned only another cold stare.

Once outside in the fresh air, Trunks sighed and directed Ken to the passenger seat of his red convertible '74 Mustang. His head was spinning from only a few minutes of conversation. He realized suddenly that he'd been completely silent, creating even more awkwardness between himself and Ken. With immense effort, he struggled to make conversation, but the only thing that came out was, "So what did you think?"

"About what?"

"About _her_."

"Bra?"

"No."

"Pan?"

"Yes."

"I thought…" Ken was obviously about to reveal his true thoughts when he caught a glimpse of Trunks, who was hunched over at the wheel, glaring broodingly at the road. "I thought she seemed like a nice person. It seems as if you two are close friends."

Trunks fought hard to bite back a contemptible laugh. Yeah, they were _best _buddies—except his best friend had been replaced with a frigid look-a-like. "Yeah, she's nice. She and Bra are both nice. They've been best friends for a while…I hope they don't start drifting apart…"

As he flew along at thirty miles over the speed limit, Trunks made a mental resolution to talk with Pan as soon as Ken could be sent home.

Whoop…es todo! Thanks to my first couple of reviewers! You guys make me blush I hope you liked that chapter just a little—SEXUAL TENSION! Who doesn't love that? Anywho, escribame si le gustaba el capítulo…or in English: write me if you liked the chapter. Review!


	3. A REAL girl

Author's Note: Another day, another chapter…when will the insanity end? Haha, I'm referencing school when I say insanity. My friends are all busy tonight with homework (ironically on the day I have none) and so I write another chapter. :-) Is it wrong if I don't know where I'm going?

Two Years Earlier

"You forget that this guy is just another man, no matter how perfect he may seem to _you_…" Renie Knowles stuffed another bite of scrambled egg into her mouth and glanced across the table at Pan, who was swirling the over-medium eggs on her plate into a mushy mess with her fork.

"I know...I've just known him for so long…"

"Pan, time is irrelevant to men. Boobs. Boobs are relevant to men. Boobs and butt and big, pouty, shiny lips. The only difference between men is that some prefer blonds, some want brunettes, a few want red-heads. That's their idea of variety."

"But you don't _know_ this guy…"

"That's because you've refused to tell me who he is, Pan! That's why this whole arrangement works out—because supposedly my knowing who it is would ruin my 'objective view.'" Renie sighed in frustration, knowing that no matter how many times she told this poor girl, nothing would change.

"I know, I know…" Pan said for the hundredth time that morning. When she'd met Renie on her first day of college, she'd decided to keep home and school life separate. This, of course, had presented her with her first opportunity to talk to someone about the Trunks "issue." How was she supposed to talk to anybody in her family or any of her immediate friends about the feelings she was developing for one of her oldest and closest friends…who was five years her senior? Anybody would see in an instant that she was talking about Trunks. Therefore Renie was her neutral ground—the girl she talked to and received advice from. It was now halfway through her freshman year in college and Renie had known about this mystery man for three months. Or rather, she'd been psychoanalyzing Pan for three months.

"Listen honey, it sounds like this guy is only interested in bimbo blonds. He thinks you're one of the guys. You say you've been friends with him your entire life…literally. That _may_ be your problem. Get out there! Date someone new! Pan, there are 1,428 males bodies on this campus. Let's subtract the gay population—let's say about 200—from that total, and you've still got over 1,000 eligible men to pick from. And you're fixated on this _one_ guy? He can't be _that _special." Renie gulped down the last of her coffee and began to rummage in her purse for money for the bill.

_Only interested in bimbo blonds…one of the guys_. It was sad to think that she'd striven so hard to establish herself as "one of the guys" when she was younger because she'd been so caught up in admiration for Trunks Briefs. Now it was coming back to bite her in the ass. The reality had been looming for years. Now, having heard herself recount the tale of her life with Trunks, she began to realize the sheer mathematic impossibility, the hilarity almost, of Trunks ever reciprocating her feelings. His feelings were, and always would be, platonic. She was almost ready to let go of her childish dreams and accept the reality of the situation. All it took was a simple admission…

"You're right, Renie. I should..." she paused before saying it, knowing she was releasing some secret part of herself, "date someone completely new and just forget about him."

Present

"Who was that _gorgeous _man?" Bra stepped out onto the patio sipping her lemonade and used her forefinger to pull down her sunglasses as she questioned Pan.

"Ken Gleeson, wonderboy extraordinaire of the business world, and official heartthrob competition to Trunks Briefs." Pan threw back her head, tossing her black hair, now warmed by the sun, over her shoulder, and giggled in tandem with Bra.

They both sat back on lounge chairs and Bra whipped outa magazine while Pan leafed through her old copy of The Great Gatsby. But neither of them could fully enjoy their summer reading material. Finally Bra broke the silence. "But really, who is he? I mean, it's not everyday you meet a guy like that. He was practically perfect in every way, if you'll excuse the Mary Poppins reference. Perfect except…" There was a long pause as Bra gave Pan a piercing look.

Pan looked up expectantly and pretended not to be interested. She was bad at it. "Perfect except for what?" Yet she didn't have to ask. What had happened in that kitchen was apparent to all. That beautiful man had been looking at her…at _her! _At Pan Son, whose tomboyish looks were usually prioritized underneath Bra's classic beauty. An alarm rang silently in Pan's head, warning her to keep a level temper as Bra experienceda taste of jealousy.

"Well, except for the fact that he couldn't take his eyes off of _you_." Bra's eyes were boring a hole into Pan's temple, but Pan looked back down at her book and scoured the pages intensively to avoid her gaze.

"Really?" she said nonchalantly. "I hadn't noticed…"

"That's funny because you were staring right back…right into his big blue eyes, Pan!" Bra's face was turning red, and Pan knew the worst of it was over. Bra often got worked up over tiny things, but she dealt with them at their onset and got her anger out of her system, before it was bitter enough to be hurtful. It was one of the things that made Bra such a good friend, although it often caused minor irritation. Pan mentally counted down…_10...9…8…_

"It's just so weird that he wouldn't look at me at all!" Bra continued. "Is there something _wrong_ with me? I look all right, don't I?"

_7…6…5…_Pan remained silent.

"But you know…I guess if you think about it…well, you two _would _look adorable together…"

_4…3…2…_

"And he's not really my type anyways, you know? It's like, who needs that shimmering blond hair-rippling muscle deal? I think I'm into guys who are more casual, you know?"

_1_…

"You're right, Bra. You _could_ do better." Pan brought her book to her face to cover her bemused smirk. Right on schedule. For the next part of her routine, Bra would become the protective best friend. Pan had been down this road many times.

Pan kept the book covering her mouth as her smirk became a goofy smile—she had just remembered the way Ken had looked at her only a few moments ago, and it was making her stomach flutter uncontrollably. She let the memory continue as she saw herself snubbing Trunks—something she hadn't intended to do but which had come naturally after being ignored for so long. It was hard to be nice to Trunks when he wouldn't admit his problems—like being addicted to work—but she had kept her cool until today. Although as she played back the scene, she found she liked its natural progression. Ken was obviously physically compelling, but he promised to be an intellectual catch as well, and he had been interested in _her_. And throwing Trunks a few cold words would do him more good than harm.

"I have an idea!" Bra sat up sharply in her lounge chair, snapping Pan out of her reverie. "We should go down to Capsule Corp. _tomorrow_—you know, snoop around, see who we may _stumble across_ while we're there." She winked ostentatiously and closed her magazine decisively. "You're going on a date with that man Pan Son, if it kills me!" She smiled deviously and pulled Pan into the house. "A girl can't let her best friend walk right past a date." Pan threw the book down on Bra's bed as she was dragged into her frosted pink room (Bra still lived at home, finding that her money was more comfortable when it was so accessible).

"What are you going to do to me, you mad scientist?" Pan laughed as she spun around in a chair in front of Bra's vanity.

Bra grabbed the chair in mid-spin and brought her face close to Pan's. "We're going to make you into a _real_ girl."

* * *

A _real_ girl was what Ken needed, Trunks decided—not Pan. As he sped towards his apartment, shifting occasionally but mostly remaining in fifth gear, he tried to reassure himself that the day's occurrences had been a fluke. Of course, Ken had looked at the picture of Trunks and Pan on her seventeenth birthday which sat on Trunks' desk with a funny, faraway look, but that didn't mean anything, right? In fact, the whole thing was preposterous. Pan _never_ fell for guys on sight—she was a strong opponent of the idea of "love at first sight." Besides that, Ken would need more than amazing looks to win her affection—she liked brainy men. That much Trunks had managed to ascertain from the few, pitifully weak, but brilliant men that Pan had brought home over the years. And aside from all that, he knew that Ken wasn't attracted to Pan—or at least, he assumed that Ken wasn't attracted to Pan. Okay, okay, sure, a lot of guys would be attracted to her when she was in that skimpy bathing suit which showed off a lot more than just curves, but he knew that when she would inevitably show up in her sweats and a tanktop, Ken would lose interest. Ken seemed like the sort who'd want a polished girlfriend—one who knew how to impress.

He sighed again and downshifted as an elderly woman cut him off from a side road. He promised himself he'd talk to her tomorrow about her chilly conversational skills, then pulled into the parking garage and took the lift up to his room. He hung his keys up on a rack, ensuring the pristine cleanliness of the apartment would survive another day. He walked past another picture of himself and Pan, this time on his twentieth birthday, when she had been only sixteen. He sighed again as he looked more closely at the picture. Perhaps he should have anticipated back then that she would grow into such an amazing—

He cut his own train of thought off,not wanting to think about anything tonight. He just wanted to crawl into bed, turn off the lights and sleep dreamlessly, without a trace of Pan or Ken or even Bra in his mind. So he nestled between the cotton sheets and drifted off after only a few agonizing moments of silence.

* * *

El fin for this chapter, senors and senoritas. I hoped you enjoyed the long, windy paragraphs. :- I can't WAIT to get to the next chapter…it's gonna be juicy, I'm not gonna lie to you. But for now I must slumber…for sleep is my lifeblood. Adios! Review! 


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